Austin: Putin has range of options

Russia’s ‘not fooling us’ on Ukraine, U.S. defense chief says

A Ukrainian soldier obscures an observation point damaged earlier by a mortar strike at a front-line position, about 100 yards from Russian separatists’ positions, in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine.
(AP/Vadim Ghirda)
A Ukrainian soldier obscures an observation point damaged earlier by a mortar strike at a front-line position, about 100 yards from Russian separatists’ positions, in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine. (AP/Vadim Ghirda)


WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday the buildup of Russian forces along Ukraine's border has reached the point where President Vladimir Putin now has a complete range of military options, including actions short of a full-scale invasion.

"While we don't believe that President Putin has made a final decision to use these forces against Ukraine, he clearly now has the capability," Austin told a Pentagon news conference.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a radio interviewer that Russia doesn't want war but sees no room for compromise on its demands.

Austin said Putin could use any portion of his force of an estimated 100,000 troops to seize Ukrainian cities and "significant territories" or to launch "coercive acts or provocative political acts" like the recognition of breakaway territories inside Ukraine. He urged Putin to de-escalate tensions, and appeared to warn Moscow against what the White House recently said was Russia's intent to paint Ukraine as the aggressor using a "false-flag operation" to justify an attack.

"We remain focused on Russian disinformation, including the potential creation of pretext for further invasion or strikes on Donbass," said Austin. "This is straight out of the Russian playbook. They're not fooling us."

Austin spoke alongside Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in what were their first extensive public comments about the crisis, marking a subtle shift in the administration's approach to public communications about the escalating situation. While both have consulted regularly with their NATO and Ukraine counterparts, the public discourse has focused on the diplomatic efforts.




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Milley painted a grim picture of Russian military capabilities around Ukraine, saying there are not only ground troops and naval and air forces but also cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as special operations forces. He said the buildup is the largest he's seen in recent memory, and he urged Putin to choose a diplomatic path over conflict.

"If Russia chooses to invade Ukraine, it will not be cost-free, in terms of casualties and other significant effects," Milley said. He was referring to Russian costs, while also noting that Ukraine's armed forces are more capable today than in 2014, when Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and intervened in support of pro-Russian separatists in the eastern industrial heartland.

Earlier Friday, the Kremlin said Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron that the West has failed to consider Russia's key conditions of halting further NATO expansion, stopping the deployment of alliance weapons near Russian borders, and rolling back its forces from Eastern Europe.

The U.S. and NATO formally rejected those demands this week, although Washington outlined areas where discussions are possible, offering hope that there could be a way to avoid war.

Despite that, U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that there is a "distinct possibility" that Russia could take military action against the former Soviet state in February. Russia has repeatedly denied having any such plans.

"We don't need this panic," Zelenskyy said at a news conference. "It cost Ukrainians dearly."




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The Russian president has made no public remarks about the Western response, but Lavrov said it leaves little chance for reaching agreement.

"While they say they won't change their positions, we won't change ours," Lavrov told Russian radio stations in a live interview.

"There won't be a war as far as it depends on the Russian Federation, we don't want a war," he added. "But we won't let our interests be rudely trampled on and ignored."

A senior Biden administration official said the U.S. welcomed Lavrov's comments that Russia does not war, "but this needs to be backed up with action. We need to see Russia pulling some of the troops that they have deployed away from the Ukrainian border and taking other de-escalatory steps."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly.

Lavrov said the U.S. suggested the two sides could talk about limits on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles, restrictions on military drills and rules to prevent accidents between warships and aircraft. He said Russia proposed discussing those issues years ago, but Washington and its allies never took them up on it until now.

He also said those issues are secondary to Russia's main concerns about NATO. He said international agreements say the security of one nation must not come at the expense of others, and said he would send letters to ask his Western counterparts to explain their failure to respect that pledge.

Austin and Milley said Friday that no U.S. forces have been yet been deployed or moved around Europe. They said the U.S. has taken into account the risk that any troop movements could inflame the situation, but stressed the need for America to reassure its allies.

Information this article was contributed by Lori Hinnant, Edith M. Lederer and Nomaan Merchant of The Associated Press.


  photo  A Ukrainian soldier looks back from atop an infantry fighting vehicle near the front line Friday in the Luhansk area of eastern Ukraine. (AP/Vadim Ghirda)
 
 


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